Abstract
To reduce environmental pollution and reliance on fossil resources, polyethylene terephthalate as the most consumed synthetic polyester needs to be recycled effectively. However, the existing recycling methods cannot process colored or blended polyethylene terephthalate materials for upcycling. Here we report a new efficient method for acetolysis of waste polyethylene terephthalate into terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol diacetate in acetic acid. Since acetic acid can dissolve or decompose other components such as dyes, additives, blends, etc., Terephthalic acid can be crystallized out in a high-purity form. In addition, Ethylene glycol diacetate can be hydrolyzed to ethylene glycol or directly polymerized with terephthalic acid to form polyethylene terephthalate, completing the closed-loop recycling. Life cycle assessment shows that, compared with the existing commercialized chemical recycling methods, acetolysis offers a low-carbon pathway to achieve the full upcycling of waste polyethylene terephthalate.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 3249 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023, The Author(s).
Funding
This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 22279125 and 21875239 to J.D.) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the central universities (grant numbers WK5290000003 to Y.P.). The authors thank Hefei Leaf Biotech Co., Ltd. and Anhui Kemi Machinery Technology Co., Ltd. for free samples and equipment that benefited their ability to conduct this study. Li Shen was financed by the Department of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 22279125 and 21875239 to J.D.) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the central universities (grant numbers WK5290000003 to Y.P.). The authors thank Hefei Leaf Biotech Co., Ltd. and Anhui Kemi Machinery Technology Co., Ltd. for free samples and equipment that benefited their ability to conduct this study. Li Shen was financed by the Department of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Anhui Kemi Machinery Technology Co. | |
| Department of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University | |
| Hefei Leaf Biotech Co., Ltd. | |
| National Natural Science Foundation of China | 22279125, 21875239 |
| Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities | WK5290000003 |
